The advantages of booking your hotel accommodation online are well known. You can do it any time, from the comfort of your own home or your smartphone. You can take time to research the best options, check hotel locations on Google Maps and ensure you get the best rate. In short, itís just more convenient; follow our basic tips on what to do Ė and what not to do Ė when booking online to ensure you get the best experience.

DONíT book directly through the hotel website

Donít book directly through the hotel website and pay what they call the Ďrack rateí. This is an inflated price that only a small minority payÖ because they donít know better!

DO look at third party sites

There are many hotel booking sites out there. Find those that suit you, whether it be because of their geographical coverage, their user-friendliness or their ease of searching. Some sites†have price guarantees and will refund the difference should you find a better deal elsewhere. Others will do price comparisons for you, may work on a bidding basis or will specialise in late availability.

DONíT compare apples with oranges

Just because you see a rate cheaper elsewhere doesnít mean to say itís a better deal. Check the details of what it is you are booking Ė is it the same room type, is breakfast included, is parking included, etc.

DO use online review sites

Sites such as Tripadvisor can be an invaluable resource. Learn from fellow travellers exactly what a hotel is like, whether itís more suited to couples of families, and so and so forth.† If you use Facebook, youíll even be able to see what your Facebook friends think of some hotels which can give added credence – depending on how much you value their opinion, of course.

DONíT be misled by fake reviews

Recognise that not all reviews will necessary be quite as they seem. The online review system is open to abuse so just be wary of that, apply common sense and use any such sites with a degree of caution. In short, donít believe everything you read.

DO consider contacting the hotel directly

It can sometimes be worth telephoning or emailing the hotel directly to see if they can better the rate youíve found. Booking directly with the hotel will mean they donít lose a commission on the booking so, if theyíre astute to this (and itíll probably depend on who you get), they may entertain a special rate.

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Comments (34)

There are hotels which guarantees the lowest rate when booked direct with them.The best strategy would be to find the lowest rate on third party websites and contact the hotel direct and ask if they can offer a better deal.Most hotel surely will do.Because they don`t have to pay a commission to those third party websites.And yes there are fake reviews too.So,read them but don`t fully depend on them.Nice article, Paul!

You do need to be careful when booking directly with a hotel or through 3rd party websites as your contract is then with the hotel as they are the principal. This means if you have a problem with your booking you may have to take legal action against a hotel in the country where they are located. Booking with an independent travel agent means that the supplier has checked the property for health & safety and other important factors such as building work nearby etc. The hotel owner may not advise you that his electrical safety certificate has run out, he is not insured, his balconies are too low for kids and he empties the swimming pool on 31 August to save money.

The best way to book hotels online is after reading online reviews. But as said rightly in this post, beware of fake reviews. Do talk to the hotel guys also. Spend some time doing research instead of falling directly into the trap.

If you use a booking site the first time and the accommodation lives up to all you have previously researched, then make sure you book direct with them next time. 2 reasons, 1) is the fact that the booking sites charge for taking the booking and that money will help the accommodation provider and 2) a lot of the accommodation providers look after return guests with incentives.

Yes, it is better to book using third party sites, because you can find some offers there, while the hotels’ sites have fixed prices. Sometimes the difference is huge, even (or especially) for 5 stars hotels

You will only get the best by going DIRECT to the people who know their product best and can give you the best service. DO BOOK DIRECT – or you’ll find a future of bland, boring & cheap. And understand value over price. Constant demand for lower prices leads to less jobs & ultimately less in all our pockets. Then where will we all be? Home, twiddling our idle thumbs! Choose to BOOK DIRECT to give us all a future of choice.

When you are looking for a Hotel it is good to have a look at the reviews in Tripadvisor and then book directly through the Hotel website, after shopping around through third parties (OTA – Online Travel Agent): you will find lower rates and special offers always through the Hotel website.

Most major hotel companies ensure that the rates offered by them are identical to those offered by online travel sites. Look no further guarantees offered by the larger hotel names will pay you the difference if you find a lower rate. You also need to be careful as you can not often collect frequent travel points at hotels if you book through an on line agent.

Review sites like trip advisor and booking.com offer generally honest reviews and are monitored to ensure their are no fakes. They are certainly aware that this does occur but all in all what your reading is submitted by people who visited the hotel or restaurant
.

People saying you will always find lower rates on the hotel’s own site compared to OTA’s: not true I’m afraid, in MOST cases – the major OTA players all do daily “rate parity” checks, ensuring that no other OTA is offering cheaper prices than what they have. But crucially, many of the OTA’s also now do rate parity checks against the hotel’s own sites – and if they find that the hotel are frequently offering cheaper direct rates than what they are giving the OTA, they will be removed from the OTA… and they DON’T want that!

Despite the commission they need to pay, many hotels use OTA’s as a late discount option to claw in lastminute business, so you WILL find cheaper deals there than on their own website 9 times out of 10.

However it is of course worth calling the hotel and seeing if they can match/better the OTA rate directly (but in my experience they generally won’t, despite avoiding commission this way!).

I trust Trip Advisor with their reviews. BUT, I always book hotel directly. I found by booking through some OTAs, you may get a good rate but the room is the worst of the selection. You can’t complain at the front desk when going through OTA but certainly can get a better room when booking directly with hotel. Is it worth to save a few dollars to get a lousy room/locarion, etc?

Booking direct is the best way to do it to guarantee a room at your choice hotel. If by booking thru a third part booking site- we can and do walk people from our property to another property in the event we can get full price on our rooms. Also, if by booking with a third party we cannot extend your stay at the desk- you must call your booking agent and do so with them. Along with the loss of any loyalty points and rewards. Most hotels and resorts like to keep their commissions and will adjust the rate or throw something in of value.
Happy Travels!

I have found that the reviews on booking.com are also mostly worthwhile though they frequently show up the inexperience of some travelers. One advantage of booking.com is that generally, but not always, you do not pay until you check out of the hotel; so it is easy to cancel if necessary without cost. This also allows you effectively to HOLD a reservation whilst continuing your research.

However, in my experience you will get the best deals by going direct to the hotels whether through their own web sites or by phone. It is simply not true that the hotel web sites only show rack rates e.g. Hilton and Marriott show a whole variety of different rate types.

Also booking hotels in Hawai’i for this October I found 5th night free, senior rates and breakfast included rates by going direct, which are not available through OTA’s. I was also able to negotiate a room upgrade over the phone which you cannot do online.

Emailing the hotel can also be effective because it allows both sides to to take the heat out of negotiations, although it is easier for the hotel to say NO this way.

OTA’s rely on the fact that you are using them for speed and convenience but most often do not offer the best deals.

However, the online comparison sites like Trivago can be very useful. I found a rate on a hotel in Fuengirola last year almost a third cheaper through an online agency called Alpha Rooms that I had never heard of before I was directed there by Trivago.

With booking.com, I believe this is down to each individual provider’s policy. In most cases, I wouldn’t expect you to be able to cancel without cost, but it may depend on various factors (eg. how long off the booking is).

The other thing that’s worth mentioning about reviews on Booking.com versus Tripadvisor is that, in the case of the former, I believe the only people who can place a review are those who have actually made a reservation (and presumably stayed) through the Booking.com website. In the case of Tripadvisor, this verification process does not happen and there is seemingly no easy, sure-fire way of checking that the person placing a review has even been a guest.

I work in reservations and I find guests who need to cancel or modify a reservation cannot do so with some 3rd party sites. Most sites don’t guarantee bed type either, I always recommend calling whether you get in house or Central reservations They can help and are full of useful information if you ask the right questions. So unless your plans are concrete. I would probably recommend not going through 3rd party.
When in doubt call

Some good tips here. We’ve done it both ways, and often find the hotel site is offering the same rate as the third party site. I like the idea of contacting the hotel directly and asking them to do better. We’ll definitely try it next time. Thanks, Paul.

A valid point, Nate… also, even if they have a few reviews to their name, look at where else they’ve reviewed. I have seen instances in the past where a ‘reviewer’ (and I use that term loosely) had done multiple hotel reviews, but the hotels all belonged to the same group. Go figure.

Thank you for these precious pieces of advice.
I’m not a specialist of luxury hotels or major international chains, but I do work in cultural tourism with several exclusive historical accommodation sites. Most of them are family-owned hotels.
If you are looking for high quality tailored stays, I would absolutely recommend a direct contact with the accommodation. Of course, it is interesting to have a look at what 3d-party sites suggest and what travellers advise. But ultimately, what you want is to be welcomed the way you expect it. No Online Travel Agency (OTA) can offer you this. Call the place (or write an email) and tell what you are looking for.
The hotel itself is best suited to know exactly the room availability, a.o. for last minute bookings (most OTA only sell a limited amount of rooms). They can adapt to your very needs, especially if the hotel is an old building, with no standard furbishing (view, number of beds, floor level, type of room, accessibility, historic authenticity …).
Small hotels are very sensitive to direct human contact. You are not a number! The more they know about you before arriving, the more personalized your welcome. Do not hesitate to talk about what you expect to come and visit, the local food you are keen to taste, your interest for the history of the region, the concern you have getting to the hotel from the airport…
As most commentators wrote it, hotels are more than happy to have direct clients. They save a (big) commission and they get the chance to create a direct relationship with you (what OTA rarely allow). You can discuss about the rates, if you saw some cheeper ones online. But bargaining about the price straight ahead to save a few cents might be a wrong calculation.
In most places I’ve been, the time the receptionist spent advising me around, the nice bottle of wine the hotel manager suggested, the discount I got on a meal, the upgrading of my room, the complicity of the staff, the promotion tariff they offered me on a second booking … made my stay much more valuable ;-)

Wrong. Do book with the hotel website directly after you have compared the rate with 3rd party website when you can. If the hotel practices rate parity then the rates will all be the same across all channels. But if you book direct with reputable hotels, you will get a better personalised services and request for custom stay, transfer, etc because they will know who you are, and if anything they have direct contact with you. In this day of Internet anonymity, personalised service is something I personally hope for.

Hotels pays commission to 3rd party websites. If you are tactful, you should be able to ask for either additional discount on room rate (at least 10%) or free upgrade because you book direct. They rather give you, their guests, the benefit, than online channels.

If you read the article in its entirety, Anchalika, I think you will see that we are in agreement.

What I actually wrote was: “Donít book directly through the hotel website and pay what they call the Ďrack rateí.”

And in conclusion I wrote: “Booking directly with the hotel will mean they donít lose a commission on the booking so, if theyíre astute to this (and itíll probably depend on who you get), they may entertain a special rate.”

The clear implication of the OP “Donít book directly through the hotel website and pay what they call the ‘rack rate’” was that if you book direct you will pay the rack rate and as I and others have said this is simply not the case.

I have just returned from a 20 night/10 hotel trip to Peru and although exceptionally I made all the bookings through a travel agent (for security reasons), I emailed all the hotels directly and was successful in obtaining upgrades or other special attention in about 50% of the cases, albeit I had to remind most of their commitments at reception!

I also got an upgraded room at a UK countryside hotel in August for the discounted rate offered for a standard room, simply by making a phone call saying I was confused by the web site and asking for the best available room/rate.

So my advice:

1) Check third party websites, especially booking.com (although note trend towards best prices being prepaid which obviates the cancellation benefit) and Tripadvisor (who have now introduced price comparisons as well as reviews).
2) Double check on Trivago or similar sites like Hotelscombined.com which collate the results from other search websites.
3) Check that the online rate is at least as good as your researched rate and either book direct online or over the phone. If you phone and don’t get any improvement or the rate is not as good, you can always book online but you can’t do it the other way around!

Sorry, but I disagree – the implication is that you MIGHT pay the rack rate rather than that you WILL pay the rack rate, and it would be prudent to check and not assume that the price you’re getting is the best available.

As just stated, if you read the article to the end, it’s even suggested that you contact the hotel directly to check whether you are getting the best rate.

Strange advice. Why would people be better off booking on a 3rd party site than via a hotel directly? Most hotels have rate parity and more and more are offering incentives to book directly (such as an upgrade, resort credit etc). Not sure the author is fully up to speed on these matters… Either that or he works for booking.com!

Good article Paul!
Reviews on TripAdvisor and similar sites are to be read with caution, especially the ones tending to extremes, positive or negative.
Always good idear to talk to the hotel when booking at a small property, since they cater to individual travelers and repeat guests.
Experienced travel agents may add value to your research. It is worth while spending a couple hours more in preparing the trip, in order to enjoy a great stay.

Do not use 3rd party sites. Call the hotel directly, as they are the ones you will be dealing with. Take a careful view of online reviews, as they can be fake in either direction. Cheap doesn’t always mean value. Always has bugged me after years in the business on the haggle aspect. We know what we have at ours and quote rates accordingly. If you go to a restaurant do you question the price of your meal, grocery store, gas station, etc etc? Trick to all the newbies in the discussion, if you are working the front, ask how many people and discounts they have BEFORE you quote the rate. Take that second step out of their hands. Bob says he has AAA, then Bob gets told the best available rates happens to be AAA at (whatever rack rate is). Be confident in what you have to offer. Don’t be afraid to let someone walk because 9/10 they more than likely won’t if your rates are in line with your area.

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